There are no more cookies in the cookie jar, and no, we’re not talking about the fun kind. Third-party cookies are finally vanishing, but not to worry, the future of marketing isn’t crumbling with them. In fact, it’s looking smarter, more secure, and more strategic than ever.
After years of delays, Google’s long-promised phase-out of third-party cookies in Chrome is now firmly underway. As of July 2025, the digital marketing world is officially in transition, with privacy-first expectations rising and outdated tracking methods on the verge of extinction.
What does that mean for marketers? There’s no better time than now to future-proof your strategy, and we’re here to help you do just that. From consent-forward data collection and server-side tracking to CRM integration tactics that actually drive results, we’ll walk you through first-party data and what it takes to lead, not lag, in a cookieless world.
Consent-Forward Tactics to Earn User Trust
Whether it be in love, friendships, or digital marketing, consent is key. As cookies disappear, consent becomes more than a checkbox; it’s a brand differentiator. Today’s consumers are savvier and more privacy-conscious than ever, expecting transparency, control, and value in exchange for their data. The best way to win the trust and long-term engagement of your customers is to lead with respect for consent. Here are some ways to do just that:
Progressive profiling: part ways with pop-up overload
Like an unwanted surprise in your DMs, pop-ups are the unsolicited messages of marketing that no one asked for, and now, everyone’s uncomfortable. They’re like a company’s intrusive thoughts; stop sharing them aloud with the user and start progressive profiling instead. This smart strategy collects small bits of data over time, in context.
Compare the frustration of “pop-up overload” with the smooth experience of timely, relevant prompts that surface only when needed. Surveillance-based models are out, trust-building touchpoints are in, or as Laura J Bal explains, data “…isn’t about collection, it’s about connection.” Stop with the hoarding and think about what first-party data you actually need from the user. This will help you reduce your fields from fifteen to five, reducing user friction and increasing conversions.
Zero-party data: just ask
Unlike inferred data, zero-party data is intentionally and proactively shared by users. Think interactive quizzes, preference centers, and feedback tools.
Sephora’s custom skincare quiz is a masterclass in value exchange: users get personalized product recommendations, and Sephora gains direct insight into what the customer needs and wants. Interactive tools like these don’t just collect data; they create engagement.
Consent management platform (CMP)
Tools like Cookiebot or Complianz help automate and manage cookie consent, ensuring your website is compliant with privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA. These platforms allow users to customize their preferences for a more transparent and user-controlled experience.
Pro tip: For faster load times and instant compliance, preload your CMP in the <head> tag of your website. This ensures cookie banners appear before any scripts fire, keeping your data practices clean and compliant from the very first interaction.
Server-Side Tracking to Future-Proof Your Analytics
With third-party cookies fading into oblivion faster than New Year’s resolutions by mid-January, brands need analytics solutions that are both resilient and respectful of user privacy. Enter server-side tracking, a modern approach that shifts data collection from the browser to your server. Instead of relying on fragile client-side scripts that can be blocked or tampered with, server-side tracking ensures your data is cleaner, more consistent, and future-ready.
More brands than ever before are making the switch, and here’s why:
Bypasses ad-blockers and browser restrictions
Client-side tracking, like scripts that run in the browser, is often blocked by ad-blockers, privacy-first browsers like Safari or Firefox, or browser settings that limit cross-site tracking. This leads to data loss, underreported conversions, and unreliable attribution. With server-side tracking, you send data directly from your server to analytics and ad platforms, avoiding interference from browser-side blockers.
Another benefit is that it ensures more consistent tracking across users and their devices and platforms, like Meta and Google, increasingly prefer server-side signals for attribution and optimization.
Centralizes data governance for privacy compliance
Data regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and DMA are tightening, and marketers must prove that their first-party data collection is compliant, consent-based, and secure. With server-side tracking, all data flows through your server first, giving you full control over what’s collected, stored, and shared. This means you can strip data of personal identifiers before sending it to vendors, reducing the legal and reputational risks of unintentionally violating privacy laws through rogue scripts or unvetted tags. Another bonus is that it’s easier to manage data retention policies, user deletion requests, and audit trails, which are key for compliance.
Improves performance and data quality
Server-side tracking reduces reliance on third-party scripts in the browser, which can noticeably speed up page load times and improve user experience. This lighter front end not only boosts site performance but can also contribute to better SEO rankings. Overall, it results in cleaner, more consistent data and a smoother digital experience, and because data is collected directly from your server, it’s far less likely to be lost due to slow internet connections, browser crashes, or JavaScript errors that often affect client-side tracking.
Getting Started with GTM Server-Side
Want to get started with server-side? Of course, you do. Google Tag Manager (GTM) makes it easy to improve data accuracy, site performance, and stronger privacy compliance, but before jumping in, it’s important to choose the right setup based on your current architecture and goals.
Hybrid vs. Pure Server-Side Setups
Hybrid
In a hybrid setup, you run your existing web (client-side) container alongside a new server container.
Benefits:
- Allows for incremental migration, moving high-value tags like Google Analytics 4, Meta (Facebook) Conversions API, and Google Ads conversions to the server first.
- Minimizes disruption to your current tag structure.
- Delivers some performance and privacy benefits without requiring a full rebuild.
Best for:
- Teams looking to gradually transition to server-side tracking
- Sites with complex tagging that can’t be moved all at once
- Organizations that want to test the server-side approach before fully committing
- Incremental migrations, moving your most critical tags (analytics, ad pixels) server-side first, while keeping less-critical tags in the browser.
Pure Server-Side Setups
In a pure server-side setup, all tagging is managed via a server container, while the browser sends minimal event data to your server endpoint.
Benefits:
- Maximum performance where fewer browser scripts = faster load times.
- Highest resilience to ad blockers, browser restrictions, and tracking prevention.
- Strongest privacy controls, as all data collection and sharing happens on infrastructure you control.
Best for:
- New (greenfield) implementations, where you can build from scratch
- Privacy-first organizations focused on first-party data ownership
- Brands seeking a future-proof, cookieless architecture
Google Cloud Run: Step by step
Google’s server-side tagging makes your analytics setup faster, more private, and more resilient. Here’s how to get up and running using Google Cloud Run in just a few steps.
- Create a Server Container
- Go to Google Tag Manager.
- Navigate to Admin → Container → Create Container.
- Name your container and select “Server” as the container type.
Click Create to proceed.
- Provision Your Server
- After creating the container, GTM will prompt you to “Get tagging server”.
- Choose Google Cloud Platform and click “Automatically provision tagging server”.
- Google will spin up a Cloud Run instance for you—no manual setup required.
- Once deployed, you’ll receive a .run.app URL (e.g., your-project-id.a.run.app), which serves as your server endpoint.
- Map this to a custom subdomain like gtm.yourdomain.com.)
- Configure & Test
- Open your new Server Container in GTM.
- Add Clients (e.g., GA4, Universal Analytics, gtag.js).
- Create Tags like you would in a web container (e.g., GA4 event tags).
- Use Preview mode to simulate data collection and confirm that events are routed properly.
You’ll see incoming requests and responses inside the Event Viewer.
- Go Live
- Once everything tests correctly, click submit and publish both your web and server containers.
- Update your website’s existing gtag.js or GTM snippet: Modify the script to point to your new server endpoint (your run.app or custom domain).
- This ensures that all hits route through your server-side container, allowing better control and cleaner data.
For the full step-by-step guide straight from Google, see the official documentation:
An introduction to server-side tagging
Case Study: Nemlig Scales Insights & Conversions with Server-Side Tagging
Denmark’s leading online grocer, Nemlig, faced hurdles with their analytics despite dominating the market. With gaps in event tracking, especially among high-value customers, and slowing site speeds during a surge in traffic, they needed a solution that balanced performance, accuracy, and privacy.
Their strategy? Nemlig partnered with IIH Nordic and implemented server-side tagging using Google Tag Manager 360 on Google Cloud Run. From there, they shifted tags from the browser to a secure server container, retaining only one Google tag on the page to handle data collection. This enables Nemlig to use the server as a staging area where they can handpick which data to send to their analytics system, resulting in higher-quality data.
What’s more, the user’s privacy is also secure and protected, with all identifiable information stripped before being sent to analytics. This, integrated with Consent Mode, dynamically manages tag behavior based on user cookie consent. Nemlig saw a 7% increase in site speed, enhancing user experience and increasing conversions by 40%. This case proves that when you future-proof analytics architecture, you don’t just improve data, you transform outcomes.
CRM Integrations: Turning Data into Action
Collecting first-party data is only half the equation. The real magic is made when that data connects across your tech stack, and your CRM system is the hub that makes it happen. A well-integrated CRM brings together everything you know about your customer, including website behavior, purchase history, form submissions, and email engagement, and puts it all into one place. Common CRM platforms like Salesforce and Hubspot provide businesses with a better overview of who their customers are and how best to serve them.
The moment that someone takes action on your site, you can send automated emails that are hyper-personalized with tailored content based on where each person is in their customer journey.
Quick Start Checklist: Connecting First-Party Data to Your CRM
Use this checklist to get your CRM integration up and running, fast, clean, and conversion-ready:
- Identify Your Events: Define which user actions you want to track (e.g., “Sign-Up,” “Viewed Product,” “Started Trial”). Focus on high-intent behaviors that drive sales or retention.
- Map to CRM Fields: Align each event with a specific field, tag, or property in your CRM (like “Lead Source,” “Lifecycle Stage,” or a custom event label).
- Connect via API or Webhook: Set up a direct integration from your server-side tagging environment to your CRM using APIs or webhooks. This enables real-time data syncing with minimal delay.
- Validate in a Sandbox: Test your setup in a staging or sandbox environment to confirm events are firing, data is flowing, and mappings are accurate before going live.
Case Study: Optimizing SaaS Appointment Funnels with Predictive Analytics
One forward-thinking SaaS provider partnered with Martal Group to supercharge its appointment-setting funnel, achieving a 15% increase in conversions from trial users to paying customers.
How did they do it? The answer is predictive lead scoring, which uses machine learning to rank leads based on how likely they are to convert. They did this by combining in-app behavioral signals like feature usage, session frequency, and time to first action with firmographic data such as company size, industry, and revenue. High-scoring users were immediately prioritized and routed to sales reps through their CRM. They didn’t just speed up the funnel; they optimized it.
Beyond Cookies: Alternative Identifiers & Contextual Targeting
As third-party cookies fade, marketers are turning to smarter, privacy-conscious alternatives for acquiring first-party data. Here’s what’s filling the gap, and how to make it work for your brand.
Universal IDs
Universal IDs like Unified ID 2.0 and ID5 are shared, encrypted identifiers created using authenticated login data, usually hashed emails. Unlike cookies, they don’t rely on tracking across sites without user consent.
Why it matters
Universal IDs are built with transparency and user control in mind and provide a consistent identity layer across publishers and platforms, enabling personalization and measurement in a privacy-safe way, without third-party cookies.
Things to consider:
While adoption of Universal IDs is growing, it’s not yet universal, and they require transparent opt-in and clear privacy disclosures.
Contextual Advertising
Instead of targeting users based on their browsing history, contextual ads appear based on the content of the page, leveraging keywords, topics, and even sentiment.
Why it matters
It is completely cookieless by design and aligns naturally with GDPR, CCPA, and global privacy trends, performing as well, or better, than behavioral targeting in terms of engagement. For example, a blog about hiking might show an advertisement for outdoor gear, or you might see a B2B software banner across the homepage of a finance industry news site.
Data Clean Rooms
Clean rooms, like Snowflake, Google Ads Data Hub, or Amazon Marketing Cloud let brands and partners analyze combined datasets in a privacy-controlled, encrypted environment.
Why they matter
These rooms allow businesses to run joint attribution, ROI, or audience insights without sharing raw data, so underlying datasets remain pseudonymized or anonymized. This is especially ideal for retail media, CPG, and cross-platform campaign measurement.
Media agencies are already on board, using Snowflake’s clean-room tech to match brand data with publisher inventory, tracking conversions while staying fully compliant with GDPR and CCPA.
Here’s how to transform your first-party data in 2025
Google’s Server-side Tagging Docs
Contextual Targeting Best Practices
GoViral Conclusion
The death of third-party cookies isn’t a crisis, it’s an opportunity, and first-party data isn’t just a fallback; it’s your competitive advantage in 2025. Brands that embrace privacy-forward strategies, build trust with users, and activate their data will lead the next era of digital marketing.
We know it sounds scary, but luckily, you don’t need to overhaul everything overnight. Start small by launching a server-side tag for one high-value event, then run a zero-party data quiz or enrich your CRM with one new data source. Easy peasy.
Need help to launch your first-party data strategy or integrate server-side tracking?
You’re in luck cause that’s kind of our thing. Contact us or request a custom proposal tailored to your goals, and we’ll make your brand thrive in a cookieless world.